ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Though the 2021 college football season is just two weeks old, the Michigan football team has the look of a rather complete team.
Through an offseason with a high emphasis on newness and development, the Wolverines seem to have addressed a number of key weak points in their roster. Michigan’s defensive front is bigger and faster to the backfield, its secondary has shown more range and consistency and its ground game has shown the ability to be among the best in the country. There are some questions about the passing game, sure, but the Wolverines haven’t been in a position where they needed to air it out yet, either. Even on special teams, Jake Moody, Brad Robbins and Blake Corum have all looked like potential All-Big Ten players.
With Big Ten play looming, there really is only one personnel question mark on the entire team: What’s going on at punt return?
Initially, it was an easy answer for Michigan. Ronnie Bell, a sure-handed senior receiver with good short-area quickness, offered the experience, consistency and playmaking ability to be a stellar punt returner this season. Then, at the end of a 32-yard return, Bell suffered a torn ACL, ending his 2021 season moments after it began.
Behind him on the depth chart, evidently, was Caden Kolesar. The walk-on safety — the son of former Michigan standout John Kolesar, the grandson of former Michigan tackle William Kolesar and the great nephew of former Michigan guard Robert Kolesar — is quick and smart on the football field, and has been called the best special teams player on the team by Jim Harbaugh on multiple occasions. After a fall camp that included several also-rans in the punt-return game, Kolesar earned the backup job behind Bell.
But so far through two games, Kolesar has two returns for 24 yards, two fair catches and one muffed punt. He has also let a couple punts land and take unfavorable bounces. The relative struggles combined with Kolesar being an asset in other roles on punt return has Michigan considering a change.
“We’ll see who plays in the game,” special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh said Monday night on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio show. “Caden had earned that job. I think he had practiced extremely well. He had some difficulties in the game as everyone witnessed. But he’s a guy who approaches everything the right way. There’s other guys behind him that are that are getting better and are growing more capable, so we’ll see going into the next game who ends up being the guy.
“But the main thing is you’re looking to secure the football first. And if that’s not being consistently done, just possessing the ball and making sure the offense is on the field the next play, then we will need to adapt. So I won’t say who it’s going to be and the whole week of practice leading up to that, but that’s the priority.”
According to both Jim Harbaugh and Kolesar, Michigan’s other contenders for the job at A.J. Henning, DJ Turner, Donovan Edwards and Andrel Anthony Jr.. Henning — who ran a 4.46 40-yard dash and a 4.08-second shuttle time in high school — showed elite quickness in a 76-yard jet-sweep touchdown last week against Western Michigan, and has been mentioned as next in line by Harbaugh.
According to the team and Henning himself, fielding punts consistently is the only step preventing him from getting the nod in games.
“Yeah, it’s really difficult to field it,” Henning said last week. “I’ve been working on it. It’s pretty difficult, but if you work at it, you’ll keep getting better.”
Added Kolesar: “You obviously have to judge the ball, and how it comes off the foot. And then if there’s win, you have to factor that in with everything. So you’re looking at the ball the whole time, and it’s really kind of a sixth sense with everybody coming at you.”
In the end, Michigan has played two mostly clean and efficient football games in two opportunities this season. The Wolverines have one more tune-up game (at least on paper) before they begin Big Ten play against Rutgers. If there’s any position that Michigan wants to iron out before then, it just might be punt returner.
“He (Kolesar) is so valuable at the other positions at punt return, we really need somebody else to step up, and I think A.J. (Henning) is really close,” Jim Harbaugh said. “Had a good week of practice last week and (will) have another one this week. But A.J., Andrel Anthony, DJ Turner and Donovan Edwards will be the guys in the mix there. We’re gonna be a better punt return unit if Caden’s rushing or holding up, because he’s just so good at those things. Happened to be he was the best guy at catching the ball.
“That was a factor last week, but going forward, we’re gonna be much better if we have him playing the other positions and we get someone else stepping up returning punts.”
(Photo: Patrick Barron, MGoBlog.com)
